Convergence to Cosmicrobia (1版)

Forty years ago, Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe challenged the long-held belief that life originated spontaneously from a primordial soup on Earth — a concept rooted in Aristotelian philosophy and dominant in Western science for over two millennia. They proposed that life might have originated elsewhere in the universe and spread to Earth through a process called panspermia. Hoyle and Wickramasinghe's research, supported by advancements in space technology and astronomy, argued that the origins of life required a cosmological scale beyond the solar system or galaxy. Their work contributed to the emergence of astrobiology, merging astronomy and biology, and indicated a shift from Earth-centered theories of life. Their challenge parallels the Copernican revolution, which displaced Earth from the center of the universe. Similarly, Hoyle and Wickramasinghe's ideas suggest a new paradigm shift in science, moving towards a view of life as a cosmic phenomenon. Recent discoveries, particularly with the James Webb Space Telescope, further support this shift, indicating that a major transformation in our understanding of life's origins may be approaching.

Contents: Prologue Introduction by Rudy Schild and Chandra Wickramasinghe Cosmology and the Origins of Life Life Beyond the Limits of Our Planetary System Quest for Life on Jupiter and Its Moons Reluctance to Admit We Are Not Alone as an Intelligent Lifeform in the Cosmos The Second Copernican Revolution Search for Aliens, and UFO's A Note on a Biological Explanation for the ERE Phenomenon Cosmicrobia: A New Designation for the Theory of Cosmic Life Search for UFOs and Aliens: Modern Evidence and Ancient Traditions Life and the Universe: A Final Synthesis Standard Big-Bang Cosmology Faces Insurmountable Obstacles? Epilogue Bibliography